BALTIMORE, Maryland March 2, 2014 - Even as Russian Prime Minister Dmitriy Medvedev wrote on Facebook today that there will be another "new revolution" in Ukraine that will install new leaders instead of the "lawless" group now calling the shots, the Russian Army has surrounded a Ukrainian Naval Base and a second military facility in the Crimea; upping the ante in an already tense standoff in this Ukrainian province on the Black Sea. The Russians came by air and land on Friday - some soldiers were already there at the Russian Naval Base at Sevastopol - and now they have surrounded the Urainian Naval Base in Sevastopol, leading to a tense standoff. Besides surrounding the two bases, their soldiers have arived at other Ukrainian facilities in Crimea, seeking to obtain weapons they say are theirs. They say the weapons are stored there. Ukrainian military at these sites have not allowed them access at this hour. In one instance, a Ukrainian tank was driven to the front gate and parked and Ukrainian soldiers formed a line near the tank. As this occurred, the Ukraine's acting President told his country that the Russian incursion had put the entire country on the "brink of disaster."
The Russian Prime Minister Dmitriy Medvedev wrote on Facebook today that Russia does not want to speak to the newly announced, temporary Ukrainian leaders. He said Russia intends good relations with Ukraine after a "new revolution." He did not expound on what this new revolution will look like or when it will take place.
The United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, will travel to Kiev on Tuesday.
The United States President spoke to Russian Strong Man Vladimir Putin for what was said to be 90 minutes yesterday with the outcome being Putin's insistence that Russia had the right to act in Crimea. The Russian Parliament has suthorized him to act, various press accounts have reported. There was no word on whether Putin and Obama spoke on whether the Russians had any intention of expanding their current operation beyond Crimea. It is interesting to note that while Ukraine and Russia share a lengthy common border, it is impossible for the Russians to access Crimea by land without traversing Ukrainian Territory. The only way for Russia to land troops in Ukraine without traversing so far unaffected portions of Ukraine is by water. Russia has direct access to the Black Sea, but their Naval Base is located in Sevastopol in Crimea, and a substantial number of troops participating in the occupation of Crimea are based there. Ukraine and Russia have a lease/treaty that allows Russia unfettered access to the naval base. Ukraine also operates a naval base at Sevastopol, and it is the base that is now surrounded by Russian troops. Ukrainian soldiers inside the base are not being allowed to leave by Russian troops, the press has reported.
The Guardian newspaper in London - always outstanding in its foreign reporting - has virtually live updates from Crimea. See the newspapers coverage at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/02/ukraine-warns-russia-crimea-war-live#block-53135c56e4b093d4729c300c John Kerry, the Secretary of State for the USA, threatened Russia with expulsion from the G8 group of world economic powers. The next G8 meeting is scheduled in Sochi - site of the recent winter olympics - but France, Britain and the USA have now pulled out of preliminary planning for the meeting and the USA has said it will not attend the meeting if Russia does not pull back its troops. The head of NATO has called Russia's actions in Ukraine a direct violation of the UN Charter. Nato secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen told Russia to “de-escalate."
The Chicago Tribune has reported that Ukraine has mobilized its military for war and called up all of its reserves. An opinion piece in the The Guardian said the entire incident may well lead to a second Cold War.
In North America, a huge Winter Storm accompanied by even more Arctic Cold is moving across the continent, dropping temperatures to single digits on the Fahrenheit temperature scale covering a huge swath of the United States with ice and snow. In Baltimore, where this writer is posting from, the temperature now is 48 degrees Fahrenheit (8.8889 degrees Celcius), but is expected to fall into the low 20's by daybreak Monday. Rain is expected to fall near nightfall, changing to sleet and then freezing rain, and then to snow by around 3 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. By daybreak, the National Weather Service says there will be one to three inches of snow on the ground. By nightfall on Monday, that total is expected to be somewhere between five inches and one foot. By daybreak on Tuesday, the temperature here is expected to be around 6 degrees Fahrenheit (-14.444 degrees Celcius). The normal temperatures for this time of year here, about 35 miles northeast of Washington, D.C., would see a high of 50 degrees Fahrenheit and a low of 35 degrees Fahrenheit.
At Turf Moor in Lancashire, England yesterday, a determined Burnley side scored in each half while completely shutting down Derby County in a 2-0 home victory before over 17,000 happy fans, solidifying their hold on the second sure promotion position in the English Championship League. David Jones scored for the Claret a tad before the half hour before veteran Dean Marney rippled the back of the net in the 68th minute for the final margin. The Claret now lead the third place Rams by five points. They trail first place Leicester City by eight points.
At College Park on Sunday the Maryland Terrapins pushed across a run in the bottom of the tenth inning to beat Massachusetts and complete a three game weekend sweep of the Minute Men. It was Maryland's seventh straight win. The Terps had swept Massachusetts in a Saturday double-header, winning the first game 4-0 behind Senior Jake Stinnet's complete game no-hitter. In the second game the Terps pushed across eight runs in the fifth inning and from there cruisied to a 10-1 win. Freshman Mike Shawaryn improved to 3-0 (he was the only Terrapin hurler to get a win on the opening weekend at powerful Florida) by throwing five shutout innings of three-hit baseball. The Terps are now 8-2 overall. After mid-week games at Virginia Commonwealth and home against Rider, Maryland opens in last ACC conference schedule with three games at Florida State.
The Maryland basketball team lost a heart-breaking 77-73 game at Clemson in double-overtime.
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